There are new kids on the spa scene and they're indulging in princess pedicures, missy manicures and mom-and-me massages.

"Because you're worth it." That landmark advertising slogan from 1973 for L'Oréal hair colour has permeated the personal-care industry. Now, it's not just about hair dye or lipstick or even an indulgent visit to your friendly neighbourhood facialist.

Today, you're worth being not only pampered, prettified and pedicured, but exercised, massaged, destressed, detoxified - and much more.

The buzzword in today's healthy spa market is wellness, whether it be at a country retreat or at the urban spas popping up all over towns across Canada.

In Montreal, you can take the waters - bathe, get massaged, jetted, waterfalled, saunaed and steamed, followed by a plunge into cold water - at a sleek new 12,000-square-foot spa in Old Montreal, Scandinave Les Bains, part of a Nordic spa trend taking Quebec by storm.

You can consult your personal health concierge at Victoria Park, a "modern wellness village," with a full-service spa, gym, hair salon and medical facility in Westmount (Botox, anybody - with a private exit and elevator straight to the valet parking?).

You may prefer the way of zen, yoga and holistic healing at funky spots like Zazen in Old Montreal or Studio Bliss on St. Laurent Blvd.

And you can go the old-fashioned route with European oils and creams massaged into body and face by magic fingers at Spa Dr. Hauschka.

Whatever the route, the philosophy rests on health and well-being. Skin deep is way out of style. "We're trying to reinvent wellness, or reinterpret it,'' said Robert Hoppenheim, one of four partners in the state-of-the-art Victoria Park.

"We're really trying to rethink the way people manage health and lifestyle."

"It's about healing and nourishment of the soul. That's what is changing in the spa industry - it's looking toward authentic changes and quality of life - not just frou-frou."

That view, and the growth of an industry worth $1.3 billion in Canada in 2006, is documented in a survey by the Canadian Tourism Commission, a federal agency.

There were at least 2,300 spas in Canada in 2006, 390 of them in Quebec, and locations and revenues grew exponentially in the preceding decade, said Frank Verschuren, "brand experiences specialist" with the agency.

"Massage is still king," according to the study, followed closely by facials, manicures and pedicures. Among other findings: the Nordic wave in Quebec and the distinction that spas in this province have the highest share of visits by men: 28 per cent.

Also: "Many spas are capitalizing on the 'health and wellness lifestyle' craze.''

And aesthetics and medical spas, particularly in major cities, is another growth sector, the study said.

Victoria Park's Hoppenheim, the former marketing director for Aldo, explains that by gathering services under one roof, the spa is giving something very precious to its clients: time.

And what splendor under the roof: on the top floor are the medical and aesthetic facilities, with naturally lit cedar corridors, treatment rooms with four channels of piped-in music plus iPod compatibility, a boutique with Thai and Swiss beauty products, and a hair salon.

Down one flight is the gym with Matrix and Human Sport machines, Total Body Vibration plates (swimsuit models use these to tone those buns and thighs, says pro athletic trainer Paul Gagné) and Express Fitness bikes, with TV, iPod and nature videos to create virtual outdoor biking courses.

And then there are the yoga "barns,'' sunlit studios that look out on trees or the mountain, walled with, yup, actual weathered barnwood (slickly varnished, of course).

On the ground floor, a café, gourmet takeout and nutrition services are on the way.

Canadian nature is the inspiration for the clean design of Victoria Park, Hoppenheim said, with natural materials like wood and river rocks from local sources and local artists.

"It's the antithesis of what people think a posh place would look like,'' he said.

Victoria Park opened in December; over in Old Montreal, Scandinave Les Bains opened in January with an ultra urban-contemporary take on taking the waters. Designed by Saucier + Perrotte, award-winning architects with a reputation for sleek urban design, the space has undulating tiled walls contrasting with massive black glass slabs and the weathered stone of Old Montreal. There's a eucalyptus steam bath, Finnish dry sauna, large jacuzzi pool with waterfalls, relaxation areas - including the stark and dark "Zero Stress" room with beanbag recliners for two - and cold rinse stations. There are also 11 massage rooms and a juice bar with snacks.

After several circuits of heavenly hot and screeching cold, followed by relaxation, you sweat all the toxins out of your body, said Vincent Damphousse, a retired pro-hockey player who is a partner in the business, which also runs spas in Mont Tremblant and Ontario, with one planned for Whistler this year.

In contrast with the modern design of Victoria Park or Scandinave Les Bains is the Old World elegance of Spa Dr. Hauschka on Sherbrooke St. W., with ornate polished furniture and plush settees. But the philosophy is similar to that New Age wellness message. "This is care that works not only on the skin,'' said Enaam Takla, who has worked for the German company, established as a natural medicine line in 1935, for 22 years.

"It's holistic, working on physical, emotional, psychological - all levels.''

Here, after a lavender rose-petal bath, Takla and her associates massage feet, hands, head, chest and face with appropriate scented oils to void toxins through lymphatic system, she explains.

"Always, from the beginning,'' she said, "the purpose has been well-being and not just about the skin."